NOODLE ART STUDIO

Noodle Art Studio:

DEDICATED TO EMPOWERING A NEW GENERATION OF CREATIVITY THROUGH OPEN-ENDED ART EXPLORATION.

BACKGROUND:

NOODLE ART STUDIO was inspired by a phone call I received in October of 2020. On the other end was a comfortable voice, one belonging to my aunt Laura. The thing I love about Laura is that she, like me, lives in an eternal state of exhausted optimism.

We commiserated about how heavy the days felt living in a world constantly adjusting to a new normal. A few months into what would be a fully virtual school year, her kids were feeling this heaviness too.

Art is how I process my heaviness; it's why I consider painting a sacred space, a ritual pairing of physical body and emotional mind. It is when I feel most myself.

Laura presented me with the opportunity to share that passion for art in a realm I had never before considered- teaching. Before she called me she had surveyed a few other families for interest and soon we had a dozen students ready for a class I didn’t even know I was teaching. She assured me there were no expectations outside of this one class. Believing in the power of exhausted optimism, I agreed.

I planned my lesson and Laura organized the students into two classes. I sent out a supply list, Laura the Zoom links. One week later Noodle Art Studio hosted its first class.

COMPANY PROFILE:

Noodle is (currently) a one woman show. It is by me, through me and from me. It is my way of righting societal wrongs and being the person I so badly needed but didn't have when I was younger. Much of my childhood I spent looking for validation in my art, ideas and ambitions. No one told me I couldn't do something but they also didn't show me how I could. The older I got the more far-fetched the idea of being an artist seemed.

Quarantine gave me the opportunity to reclaim my artistic identity. I escaped through the process of making, gaining confidence in my ability. I make art by creating space for my emotional energy to exist, outside of myself.

Noodle classes help kids locate, navigate and expand their artistic potential. My projects are open-ended meaning I allow my students to interpret my lesson in a way that feels authentic to them. I introduce the project, never showing images of how anything could or should look and together we grow through the process.

Celebrating their willingness to try something new empowers them to approach each lesson with confidence. Fearlessly they dive into potato printmaking, Dale Chihuly (American glass artist) inspired shrinky dinks and seamlessly flow from painting texture with natural objects to painting the textures of natural objects.

Noodle allows students to recognize they can absolutely be an artist, an astronaut or anything in between.

THE ME BEHIND THE MISSION:

After months and months of learning, unlearning, questioning and challenging we need time to heal. Healing does not happen in solidarity, it does not sneak it quietly and play nice. It takes time, effort, understanding and a desire to enact change in order to heal. By creating a world in which all voices are valued we can circumvent pain and begin to build a new generation.

I will teach a generation to be empathetic towards themselves and others. They will feel comfortable being vulnerable because they know they will be supported by their peers and myself.

I will focus on new methods of learning including non-traditional/ experimental art techniques. My students will understand nothing is one size fits all.

I will facilitate an environmentally conscious creative space, one focused on improving the world as it exists now and better preparing for tomorrow. Community members will be invited to help us breathe new life into objects headed for a landfill. Water bottles become walruses, magazine scraps are pieced together to create maps exposing hidden treasure.

I will empower a generation who knows the value of their unique voice and is ready to use it to continue the Noodle mission outside of the classroom and create a better, brighter tomorrow.